Cityblock, a Medicaid value-based care provider, has partnered with Alliance Health, a managed care organization in North Carolina, to help members with serious mental illness and substance use disorder.
The value-based arrangement was launched July 1 and will benefit members in three counties, including Wake County, one of the most populous counties in the state. It is the first time Cityblock’s services will be available in Wake County.
Alliance Health has 137,000 Medicaid-eligible members across North Carolina. Its integrated behavioral health and intellectual development disability-tailored plan includes primary care providers, specialists, ancillary health providers and pharmacies, according to a news release.
“This expanded access program will ensure that the most vulnerable members of the North Carolina Medicaid system receive timely, quality healthcare for serious conditions like mental illness, substance use, intellectual/developmental disabilities, pharmacy services, physical healthcare, safe housing and food,” said Kameron Matthews, M.D., chief health officer at Cityblock Health, in an email to Fierce Healthcare.
Nearly one in four people in North Carolina are on Medicaid. Cityblock can also provide a primary care provider (PCP) for Alliance members without a PCP.
"Alliance believes that Cityblock's treatment approach of providing community-based integrated primary care, behavioral health care and attention to social supports is an ideal model to address the complex needs of our members," said Alliance Health Chief Operating Officer Sean Schreiber.
Cityblock’s presence in the state began in 2021 when the company launched clinics for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Medicaid and Medicare Advantage members. It now serves more than 41,000 members in the state.
Almost 480,000 North Carolina residents have been enrolled in Medicaid since the state adopted expansion efforts in December, reports WFDD.
Governor Roy Cooper this month said the state would eliminate $4 billion in medical debt for hospitals eligible for payments under the Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program, once approved by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Medical debt since 2014 will be relieved for Medicaid enrollees.